Norway Women's Beach Handball Team Fined for Wearing Shorts, Not Bikini Bottoms

The Norwegian women's handball team was fined $1,700 for “improper clothing" after choosing to wear shorts rather than bikini bottoms at the Euro 2021 tournament.

Norway had petitioned the European Handball Association to wear shorts rather than bikinis before the event, but the team was threatened with disqualification and/or fines. The team then chose to protest during its bronze medal match against Spain.

"It was very spontaneous. We thought, 'Let's just do it now, and then see what happens,'" player Katinka Haltvik told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, per Caroline Radnofsky of NBC News.

International handball rules require women wear bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg." The side width can be no more than four inches. 

By contrast, men are allowed to wear athletic shorts, provided they are at least four inches above the knee.

"It's not [appropriate clothing for] the activity when they are playing in the sand," Norwegian Handball Federation President Kare Geir Lio told NBC News.

Lio said the women have the federation's "full support."